Is Middletown the team to beat in Division III football? They stated their case Friday
LINCOLN — On a rough night for the best teams in Division III, it was Middletown that emerged from the wreckage as perhaps the team to beat.
The Islanders took down previously undefeated Lincoln in impressive fashion Friday night, pitching a shutout and controlling the pace in a 21-0 victory. It was the fifth consecutive victory for Middletown since a loss to Classical in its league opener.
With Moses Brown also knocking West Warwick from the unbeaten ranks on Friday, the Islanders can make a strong case for the label of D-III favorite. They can clinch the top seed in D-III-A with a win over North Smithfield in their regular season finale next week.
“We knew this was going to be our hardest game,” Middletown senior Juleun Gilman said. “We had a great week of practice. We’ve been preparing for this for two weeks. We put in all the work and it paid off.”
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Here’s what stood out.
The Islanders came out punching
Middletown was on its league bye last week. While the Islanders did play a non-league game against East Catholic from Connecticut, preparation for the matchup with Lincoln was front-and-center for a full two weeks.
And it showed.
The Islanders came out flying, delivering a quick defensive stop on Lincoln’s first possession, then scoring on their fourth play from scrimmage. Julien Delacruz found Cameron Miller for a 37-yard touchdown.
Lincoln went three-and-out on its next two possessions. Middletown missed a field goal try but was right back in business midway through the second quarter as Delacruz and R.J. Wiggins connected for a 17-yard touchdown.
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“We wanted to catch them early,” Gilman said. “We came out and just punched them right in the mouth.”
The early strikes and the defensive dominance put the Islanders in control. And it was a particularly strong grip against a Lincoln team with a run-first identity. The Lions faced a steep uphill road back into the game and didn’t make much headway on it.
“It’s the first time we’ve faced adversity like this and I think the first time we’ve been behind early in a game,” said Lincoln coach Sean Cavanaugh. “We wanted to do what we do. They gave us some different looks. We have a lot of work to do. I never doubt the effort of our team. It just wasn’t our night.”
Middletown doubled down on clock control in the second half, holding the ball for almost the entirety of the third quarter. Lincoln ran three offensive plays and had possession for just 1:53 in the third quarter. For the game, the Islanders had a huge edge in time of possession, 28:24 to 16:06 for the Lions. They ran 56 offensive plays to Lincoln’s 30.
“At a certain point, we know how to control the clock,” Gilman said. “We know how to work through it, we know what to run, and we execute.”
Trent Ames came through with a touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter that essentially put the game out of reach.
Middletown’s defense set the tone
The Islanders have had their share of strong defensive performances this season, but this one was on another level.
The Lions came into Friday’s tilt averaging 36 points per game. Their season-low was 27. With Tyler Durang starring and a solid supporting cast running alongside, Lincoln’s Wing-T attack has been difficult to stop for everybody in D-III.
The Islanders didn’t just slow the Lions down; they were a brick wall. Lincoln was held to 43 rushing yards, 67 total yards of offense and just three first downs.
“We felt good coming up here,” Middletown linebacker Caleb Florendo said. “Our coaches watch hours and hours of film. We had everything they do mapped out.”
The early deficit didn’t help the cause for the Lions, who had to go to the air a little more than usual. Quick three-and-outs meant no rhythm.
“They were aggressive. Their players made plays and they executed,” Cavanaugh said. “We had some plays we’d like to have back. We didn’t execute the way we needed to tonight.”
Durang has been one of the top players in the division, and Middletown focused a lot of its energy on stopping him. He finished with 23 yards on five carries, with his longest rush going for five yards.
“Tyler is a big runner and we just wanted to shut him down,” Florendo said. “We put both our linebackers on him.”
Many of the stops came at the point of attack. Middletown’s front seven — linemen T.J. Buzard, William Buzard and Griffin Kleinknecht, and linebackers Florendo, Ames, Isaac Mello and Andrew Sousa — won the battle more often than not.
Playmakers delivered
Controlling the clock. Playing good defense. That was certainly the formula for the Islanders, but having some of the best players on the field didn’t hurt either.
Gilman rushed for 135 yards on 26 carries. Running behind a strong offensive line, he picked up several big chunks of yardage.
Delacruz was efficient when the Islanders went to the air, completing 13 of 22 passes. Wiggins continued a strong season with four catches for 71 yards, with three of the catches going for key third-down conversions. Miller, who has recently returned to the lineup, provided a spark with four catches for 79 yards.
The top seed should be Middletown’s
Middletown and Lincoln are now tied atop Division III-A with 5-1 records. The Islanders have North Smithfield - who is 2-4 - in their last regular season game. If they take care of business, they’ll be the top seed.
It would be the second consecutive first-place finish for the Islanders, who also went 6-1 last year and were the No. 1 seed from D-III-A. That’s a big feather in the cap for the program. The Islanders were the D-III runner-up last year.
“This puts us in the top spot, and we’re very happy about that,” Gilman said. “Hopefully we’ll win next week, get that conference championship and make a playoff run.”
There’s one fascinating wrinkle in the D-III seeding discussion. Defending champion Moses Brown was without star running back Myles Craddock for a few weeks and lost two straight games. Craddock is back now, but the Quakers may still end up with the fourth seed from Division III-B, making them an exceedingly dangerous team in the postseason.
Expect the Lions to regroup
The Lions were as impressive as any team in the division through the first five weeks of the season, and they won’t be going away after one bad night.
Cavanagh tipped his hat to the Islanders for a strong performance. He hopes his team learns from it, both in terms of X’s and O’s and in responding to adversity - something the Lions haven’t seen much of this year.
“I love this team. They win together, and tonight, we lost together. And we’re going to get back to work together,” Cavanaugh said. “We have challenges ahead but I look forward to how they’re going to answer. I think they will respond.”
The Lions will close out the season against a Toll Gate team that is 1-4, giving them a good opportunity to bounce back ahead of the postseason.
MIDDLETOWN 21, LINCOLN 0
First quarter
M - Julien Delacruz 37 pass to Cameron Miller (Patrick Cranson kick)
Second quarter
M - Delacruz 17 pass to R.J. Wiggins (Cranson kick)
Fourth quarter
M - Trent Ames 19 run (Cranson kick)
TEAM STATISTICS
RUSHING - Middletown 190, Lincoln 43. PASSING - Middletown 13-22-182, Lincoln 2-9-24. TOTAL OFFENSE - Middletown 372, Lincoln 67. FIRST DOWNS - Middletown 16, Lincoln 3. FUMBLES-LOST - Middletown 1-1, Lincoln 1-0. TOTAL TURNOVERS - Middletown 1, Lincoln 0.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Middletown - Juleun Gilman 26-135; Ames 5-32, TD; Miller 1-19; Delacruz 2-4. Lincoln - Sean Clifford 5-24; Tyler Durang 8-23; Jayden Rodrigues 1-1; John Nicoll 3-1; Ryan Plante 4-(-6).
PASSING: Middletown - Delacruz 13-22-182, 2 TD; Lincoln - Nicoll 2-8-24; Durang 0-1.
RECEIVING: Middletown - Miller 4-79, TD; Wiggins 4-71, TD; Cranson 4-31; Ames 1-1. Lincoln - Plante 1-14; Clifford 1-10.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Middletown High School football hands Lincoln first loss in Div. III
